His answer gave a telling insight into what he viewed his political legacy.

It was the suspension of international flights - for him the product of 14 years' work - that was weighing heavily on his mind.

Singapore Airlines on Monday confirmed that suspension was now permanent, with direct flights to Canberra ditched.

The coronavirus crisis has dealt knockout blows to leaders around the country.

But for Barr, this one would have really hurt.

Heading into an election, considering his political future, he must be thinking about his legacy.

He has always baulked at the concept of the ACT being considered nothing more than a local government.

Forget roads, rates and rubbish - he has focused on international trade and global partnerships.

The emergence of international flights has been one of the few really tangible products from this.

A little city growing up under Barr's watch.

He has spent a significant part of his six years as chief minister, and tourism minister before that, telling anyone who would listen Canberra was a great place to do business.

Barr trotted across Asia and New Zealand, at taxpayers' expense, wooing airlines, politicians and investors across the world.

So it doesn't take much to imagine how much of a personal blow the news Singapore was ditching the ACT would have come to Barr.

Take his comments back in April, when the reality of the pandemic was only just hitting.

"It is obviously clear to me that a decade's worth of economic development appears to have been wiped out in the space of several weeks," he told The Canberra Times.

A large part of this development was luring those international airlines to the territory.

By April, they had been suspended because of border closures.

"I've been working on that for 14 years," he said.

"I'm still coming to terms with it."

The future of Qatar Airways' daily flights - the only other international airline flying out of Canberra - is not yet known.

But the circumstances around that flight are quite different - the airline uses it as a way to get an extra daily flight into the lucrative Sydney Airport market.

It has become clear there will not be a "snap back" from the economic devastation of the coronavirus pandemic.

While Barr says he would work hard to get the flights back, nothing is guaranteed when the nature of international travel looks set to change forever.

When the world emerges from the pandemic, there is a strong possibility the nation's capital will be served by just two domestic airlines.

The pandemic has forced leaders to reassess their legacies. The challenge for Barr now is re-evaluating what he wants his to be.

Whoever wins the October election, their legacy will be felt by Canberrans for decades to come - for better or for worse.